Keeping busy
Now that Fan is done and dusted, and Shah Rukh Khan has seen the back of the painful prosthetic transformation into desperate fan Gaurav, it’s time for the superstar to look forward. And as usual his plate is full, not just with his own acting commitments but also as a producer. We all know that he is acting in Rahul Dholakia’s Raees and Gauri Shinde’s film with Alia Bhatt. Khan has also confirmed his participation in Imtiaz Ali’s next and Aanand L Rai’s upcoming project. His production company is leading on a few projects that do not feature the 50-year-old, one being Farah Khan’s next, a Marathi film and the remake of the 1979 murder mystery, Ittefaq. It is rumoured that Varun Dhawan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui will reunite after Badlapur for the remake, which originally starred Rajesh Khanna. Incidentally, Ittefaq was itself believed to be a remake of the 1965 British film, Signpost to Murder.

India’s new superhero
Writer-director Vikramaditya Motwane (Udaan, Lootera) has long been attempting to launch his superhero film. First Imran Khan was attached to it and then there was talk of Sidharth Malhotra slipping into the suit. But it seems Motwane’s hero might have to hang up his cape, as the filmmaker has just been signed on for another prestigious superhero movie. A few years ago, comic book writer Stan Lee—creator of such loved heroes as Spider-Man, the Hulk and Iron Man—had launched his first Indian superhero character. Chakra The Invincible, which was first adapted into an animated TV film, will now be made into a film with Motwane directing. The comic is based on a Mumbai teenager and tech whiz who uses his smarts to design a suit that taps into the powers of the body’s chakras. Fans of Lee’s heroes and their film versions will be familiar with the creator’s famous cameos. Motwane has reportedly said that he won’t forget to include one in his script.

Playing at numbers
Almost five months after its Indian premiere at the International Film Festival of India in Goa last year, director Matt Brown’s The Man Who Knew Infinity gets its big screen release today. Based on Robert Kanigel’s book, The Man Who Knew Infinity: A Life of the Genius Ramanujan, it recounts the genius mathematician’s life story from his birth in 1887, in South India, to his early demise at that age of 32. The film, like the book, focusses largely on Ramanujan’s unusual friendship with English mathematician GH Hardy at Cambridge, and also his family life back in India. American screenwriter Brown discovered the book, optioned the rights and wrote most of the script as he nursed his hospitalised brother. R Madhavan was initially slated to play the role of Ramanujan, a part that eventually went to Dev Patel (Best Exotic Marigold Hotel). Jeremy Irons plays Hardy and New York-based Devika Bhise plays Ramanujan’s wife, Janaki. One of the most important elements of the film was ensuring that the formulae were accurate. To achieve this, Brown enlisted the expertise of Ken Ono, one of the most respected mathematicians in the world.

Three’s a charm
Who doesn’t love a Bollywood wedding? Karan Singh Grover is certainly well practiced, and we hope it’s third time lucky with bride-to-be Bipasha Basu. The couple, that starred together in the 2015 supernatural thriller Alone, will be married this weekend (April 30) in “an intimate Bengali-style traditional ceremony” in Mumbai, followed by a celebration party. The mehendi/sangeet will take place the previous day. The couple has already had elaborate bridal showers/bachelor parties and gifts have been pouring in. Bipasha, 37, has had a history of long but unsuccessful relationships with John Abraham, Dino Morea and Harman Baweja, but this will be her first wedding. Grover (34), on the other hand was previously been married to TV actors Shraddha Nigam and Jennifer Winget.